Acres across Merchant Taylors' grounds

Music

Music is an integral part of life at Taylors’. It is rare to find a moment when a rehearsal, performance or ensemble isn’t taking place somewhere on campus in preparation for the next big event.

300+

music Lessons delivered every term.

Pupils study music until Fourths (Year 9), after which they can choose it as an option for both GCSEs and A-Levels. We also encourage our pupils to get involved with music beyond the classroom.

More than a quarter of Taylors’ pupils take instrumental or singing lessons each week. The School works with a team of inspiring visiting specialist music teachers who offer one-on-one instrumental lessons.

Throughout the year, there are numerous performance opportunities, including informal evening concerts, competitions, open events, assembly performances and major formal concerts punctuating the department’s busy programme each term.

“Musical talent here is dazzling”.

The Good Schools Guide

In the Autumn Term, highlights include the Autumn Concert and the Carol Service, along with a biennial Musical Theatre production in collaboration with St Helen’s School.

During the Spring Term, there is an annual concert at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall in the City, and a Spring Concert where the combined choirs of Merchant Taylors’ and St Helen’s perform a large-scale choral work towards the end of term. In July, the Summer Spectacular provides a fantastic finale to the year’s musical events.

Instrumental and Singing Tuition Application

If your son is interested in learning an instrument, singing or receiving tuition, please fill out the form below. We will match him with one of our 21 visiting music tutors who can best support and nurture his musical talents.

Music Tuition Form

Our Facilities

The current Music building was opened on November 10th 1975 by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

There is a fine Recital Hall with a Yamaha grand piano, equipped for practical work, and two iMac Music Technology Suites. Eleven further teaching/practice rooms all have pianos.

Major concerts are held in the Great Hall, which has a Blüthner grand piano and a modern mechanical action organ by Harrison and Harrison (refurbished 2008); the School Chaplaincy Centre has a 1998 mechanical action organ by Lammermuir Pipe Organs, installed in 2010.

Ensembles at Merchant Taylors

There are also 19 different ensembles as well as unofficial student bands and groups which you can see more about below:

Jazz Bands

Big Band

The Merchant Taylors’ Big Band is a 17-piece jazz band which performs big-band charts in a variety of styles including jazz standards, swing, bop, fusions, and arrangements of popular music for jazz band.

Coached by one of the visiting music teachers who is a vastly experienced jazz performer and recording artist himself, the Big Band performs in the Winter Concert and Summer Serenade Concert every year, as well as taking centre stage in the annual Jazz Night in the summer term.

Trumpeters, trombonists, and saxophonists are invited from all year groups to play with a rhythm section comprising piano, bass, drums and percussion.

Dixieland Band

The Dixieland Band specialises in playing in early jazz styles, with a focus on learning to improvise. Comprising the standard instrumentation of Louis Armstrongs bands of the 1920s with a fronts line of Trumpet, Clarinet, Tenor Sax and Trombone, and a rhythm section of Piano, Bass and Drums, the players are amongst the best in the school, and represent the School and the Department throughout the year at Open Mornings, the annual Jazz Night, and Quiz Evenings in addition to the main school concerts, including the Winter Concert and Summer Serenade.

Membership of the Dixieland Band is by invitation only.

Orchestras

Symphony Orchestra

The Symphony Orchestra is a full-size orchestra of approximately 65 players, and performs a mixture of symphonic repertoire from the Classical, Romantic and Modern eras (right up to the present day) at the Winter Concert and Summer Serenade each year. There are no auditions, but a minimum level of above Grade 5 is required for string players (Grade 6 for violinists), and usually higher for wind, brass and percussion players.

Recent repertoire has included Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony, Bizet’s L’Arlésienne Suite No. 1, and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1 in E minor.

Chamber Orchestra

The Chamber Orchestra is for the most advanced orchestral string players at School, occasionally augmented by senior wind or brass players as the repertoire requires.

Chamber concertos, suites, serenades and string orchestra repertoire from a huge canon of works composed over the last 300 years are performed at major concerts each term, including the Winter Concert, the Summer Serenade, and the annual concert at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall. Recent repertoire includes Vaughan Williams’ 5 Variants on Dives and Lazarus, Giazotto’s Adagio for Organ and Strings based on a fragment of Albinoni, and Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No. 5.

Membership of the Chamber Orchestra is by invitation only.

Sinfonia

The Sinfonia String Orchestra is the training ground for developing string players who aspire to progress to the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras when they are technically ready. The basis of any orchestra, string players in Sinfonia develop the ensemble of skills of playing in sections, following a conductor, and leading the other musicians around them, as they prepare to perform in the major concerts throughout the school year, including the Winter Concert and Summer Serenade. Sinfonia occasionally combines with the Wind Band to form a full orchestra – Winfonia – for special performances.

Open to all violinists, viola players, cellists and double bass players up to and including Grade 5 standard.

Orchestral Wind, Brass & Percussion

Concert band

The School’s flagship ensemble for wind, brass, and percussion players. Varied repertoire for intermediate to advanced musicians is prepared for performances in major concerts during the year, including the Winter Concert, the No Strings Attached Concert, and the Summer Serenade.

The Concert Band won a Silver Award at the National Concert Band Festival in their first year of entering. A must for anyone aiming to take a higher grade on their instrument, the minimum standard is for players who are at least Grade 5 level.

Wind Band

The Wind Band is open to all pupils who play around grade 1-5 standard. It is the preparation group for Concert Band which tackles more challenging repertoire and it is an amazing way to develop as a musician. In rehearsals, we play fun pieces and practise essential skills like sight reading and listening.

The Wind Band plays in each of the school’s major concerts, including the Winter Concert and Summer Serenade, and occasionally combines with Sinfonia to form a full orchestra – Winfonia – for special performances.

Choral Music

School Choir

A large-scale choir (over 100 singers) of each voice type – treble, alto, tenor, and bass, which is open to all – no audition required. The School Choir leads the singing in the School Carol Service and performs in Choral Concerts at School throughout the year.

In the Spring Term the School Choir is joined by the Parents’ Choir, the choir of St Helen’s School for Girls, and singers from Merchant Taylors’ Prep and St John’s Prep schools to form the Merchant Taylors’ Choral Society to perform a major choral work. Recent programmes have included Handel’s Messiah,

Every three years the School Choir sings at the Triennial Service in St Paul’s Cathedral.

Choir – Trebles & Altos

A sectional rehearsal for the Trebles and Altos of the School Choir. Time is spent learning the notes of the music to be sung with the Tenors and Basses, as well as singing bespoke repertoire for Trebles and Altos only.

Attendance is mandatory for the Trebles and Altos who sing in the School Choir, to which all are welcome – no audition.

Choir – Tenors & Bass

A sectional rehearsal for the Tenors and Basses of the School Choir. Time is spent learning the notes of the music to be sung with the Trebles and Altos, as well as singing bespoke repertoire for Tenors and Basses only. Performances as a distinct Male Voice Choir take place alongside the School Choir performances in termly concerts as well as the Christmas Carol Service.

Attendance is mandatory for the Tenors and Basses who sing in the School Choir, to which all are welcome – no audition.

Chamber Choir

An elite TrATB chamber choir comprising the very best singers drawn from the School Choir. Repertoire is varied, including both secular and sacred music. In addition to performing in Choral Concerts at School, the Chamber Choir features in the School Carol Service, performs in the annual concert at Merchant Taylors’ Hall, and sings two Choral Evensong services each year at external venues, one in a cathedral and one at an Oxbridge College.

Most recently the Chamber Choir has sung Choral Evensong at Guildford Cathedral and University College Oxford, with dates at Peterborough Cathedral and Pembroke College, Cambridge in summer 2025.

The Chamber Choir forms the core of a tour choir every two years, and is touring to Paris and the Rhineland in July 2025. Membership is by invitation only.

Thomas White Singers

An elite singing group for a small number of senior Tenors and Basses. The Thomas White Singers perform in Chamber Music Concerts and at the Merchant Taylor’s Hall. Membership is by invitation only.

Year 7 Choir

At Merchant Taylors’ we enjoy a strong tradition of singing and every pupil in the Third Form performs together in a year-group choir in the Lower School Concert in the Autumn term. Parts songs are learned in music lessons, and the classes combine to form the choir for the performance.

For many pupils this is the first time they have had the opportunity to sing in such a large choir, and their performance is usually the highlight of the concert! Many pupils are inspired to join the Trebles and Altos in the School Choir and go on to learn and perform great masterpieces during their time at Merchant Taylors’.

Parents Choir

Community singing is one of the gems of our culture, and choral societies thrive up and down the country. At Merchant Taylors’ parents and friends of the School are invited to sing in the Parents’ Choir, a SATB choir which meets weekly from November through to June.

The Parents’ Choir sings in the Carol Service, and combines with the School Choir to form the Choral Society and perform works such as Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms in the Joint Concert in the Spring term. Lighter repertoire is enjoyed for performing in the Summer Serenade concert.

All are welcome – there are no auditions – and the emphasis is on having fun whilst taking the music seriously.

Instrumental Ensembles

Taylors’ Brass

Taylors’ Brass is the School’s brass ensemble for more advanced brass players, including trumpets, cornets, trombones, euphoniums, tenor horns, French horns and tubas. A mixture of brass band and smaller brass ensemble repertoire is performed in major concerts (including the Winter Concert, Summer Serenade and the Merchant Taylors’ Hall Concert) each year; Taylors’ Brass also plays at other important School events such as the Carol Service and the Triennial Service.

Percussion Ensemble

The Percussion Ensemble caters for all boys who play percussion – both untuned (such as a drum kit) and tuned (such as a xylophone). It is the perfect ensemble for pianists who fancy trying their hand at playing in an ensemble, able to play tuned percussion straight away!

Players in the Percussion Ensemble are also trained to become accomplished percussionists for larger ensembles such as the Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band or Wind Band. The Percussion Ensemble performs in the Winter Concert and Summer Serenade, as well as at Informal and Chamber Music Concerts throughout the year.

Open to players of all ages and levels.

Guitar Ensemble

The Guitar Ensemble gives classical guitarists the opportunity to develop ensemble skills, explore ensemble repertoire and perform with other guitarists in Informal and Chamber Music Concerts throughout the year. Open to classical guitarists of all ages and abilities.

Saxophone Ensemble

The Saxophone Ensemble is chamber music ensemble that caters exclusively for saxophonists! Mixing alto, tenor and baritone saxes, this is a versatile ensemble is equally at home performing in the annual Jazz Night as at a formal Chamber Music Concert and the No String Attached Concert.

Open to intermediate and advanced players of all ages.

Chamber Music

Piano Trios, String Trios, String Quartets, Wind Quintets & Flute Choir

The canon of chamber music composed over the last 300 hundred years is arguably amongst humankind’s greatest artistic achievements. String players – violinists, viola players, and cellists – are the core members of such ensembles, coming together to form String Trios and String Quartets. Pianists have the opportunity to join the strings in Piano Trios, and wind players (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn) play in Wind Quintets, Quartets and Trios too.

At Merchant Taylors’ these chamber groups receive weekly coaching sessions from professional chamber music specialists to explore and perform this repertoire. Music Scholars and other advanced instrumentalists are invited to participate, and the groups perform in Chamber Music concerts at School, as well as participating in the South-East Schools’ Chamber Music Competition each year.

Recorder Consort

The Recorder Consort is a chamber group of around four players which gives wind players the opportunity to play the school’s range of professional recorders together in an ensemble. Repertoire for this instrument is amazingly broad and affords players the chance to explore the finer details of tuning and ensemble playing. The consort performs in a range of concerts throughout the year, including Tea-Time and Chamber Music Concerts.

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